Colorado Amendment 85 would cap ballot questions at eighth-grade reading level
Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min · 7 segments
- Speakers
Kim MonsonHost
Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min · 7 segments
Kim MonsonHost
Amendment 85 would require Colorado's state and local ballot questions to be written in plain language at no more than an 8th grade reading level and would bar statutes from interfering with that standard by mandating wording in an initiative's ballot title.
Amendment 85, on the November 3rd ballot, would add two sentences to the Colorado Constitution requiring that ballot questions be in plain language at no more than an 8th grade reading level, and barring any statute from interfering with that requirement by mandating language preceding, following, or in a ballot title of an initiative.
Producer Luke, a producer for The Kim Monson Show, raised the measure on the October 15th broadcast.
And, you know, it permeates even through some of these ballot initiatives, where you have this proposition that is, well, we should change all of the language to an eighth-grade reading level, he said.
Have we really gotten to a point in this country where we need to cater to the lowest common denominator? The Amendment 85 entry in Kim Monson's 2026 Colorado Voter's Guide recommends a yes vote.
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
The measure would add subsection 5.6 to Article 5, Section 1 of the Colorado Constitution.
Its ballot title, set on March 4th by the Ballot Title Setting Board, known as the Title Board, says the reading-level requirement covers all state and local ballot questions, and the limit on statutes covers ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures.
The 2026 Blue Book, the state ballot information booklet prepared by Legislative Council staff, says the measure does not define plain language or designate who will determine if ballot titles meet the standard.
It describes an 8th grade reading level as one that is easily and fully understood by a majority of people, which typically includes short sentences, familiar words, and a conversational tone.
House Bill 26-1320, signed May 29, 2026, requires the title board to set titles written using accessible language, which is plain language that is understood by the widest possible audience but sets no grade level.
The Blue Book says a no vote maintains current law, which requires plain language for ballot titles but does not specify a particular grade-level reading standard.
Amendment 85 would require Colorado's state and local ballot questions to be written in plain language at no more than an 8th grade reading level and would bar statutes from interfering with that standard by mandating wording in an initiative's ballot title.
Amendment 85, on the November 3rd ballot, would add two sentences to the Colorado Constitution requiring that ballot questions be in plain language at no more than an 8th grade reading level, and barring any statute from interfering with that requirement by mandating language preceding, following, or in a ballot title of an initiative.
Producer Luke, a producer for The Kim Monson Show, raised the measure on the October 15th broadcast.
And, you know, it permeates even through some of these ballot initiatives, where you have this proposition that is, well, we should change all of the language to an eighth-grade reading level, he said.
Have we really gotten to a point in this country where we need to cater to the lowest common denominator? The Amendment 85 entry in Kim Monson's 2026 Colorado Voter's Guide recommends a yes vote.
It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood.
The measure would add subsection 5.6 to Article 5, Section 1 of the Colorado Constitution.
Its ballot title, set on March 4th by the Ballot Title Setting Board, known as the Title Board, says the reading-level requirement covers all state and local ballot questions, and the limit on statutes covers ballot questions for citizen-initiated measures.
The 2026 Blue Book, the state ballot information booklet prepared by Legislative Council staff, says the measure does not define plain language or designate who will determine if ballot titles meet the standard.
It describes an 8th grade reading level as one that is easily and fully understood by a majority of people, which typically includes short sentences, familiar words, and a conversational tone.
House Bill 26-1320, signed May 29, 2026, requires the title board to set titles written using accessible language, which is plain language that is understood by the widest possible audience but sets no grade level.
The Blue Book says a no vote maintains current law, which requires plain language for ballot titles but does not specify a particular grade-level reading standard.
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